In a mark of respect of the late former US President Gerald Ford, the US Consulate General in Middle Road, Devonshire will be closed to the public this Tuesday.

Current US leader George W. Bush has ordered that all US Government departments and overseas annexes remain closed on January 2 as the nation remembers Mr. Ford, the 39th US president who was appointed leader between 1974-1977 and died this week aged 93.

In a statement the US Consulate General said: ?As the (US) nation mourns the loss of President Ford, president Bush has taken official action to allow Federal employees to join their fellow citizens in remembering our thirty-eighth President of the United States.

?The President issued an Executive order closing the Department and all annexes for normal business on that day.?